Louis IX (April 25, 1214-August 25, 1270), revered as "St. Louis", was the ninth king of the Capetian Dynasty of France (reigned from 1226 to 1270). He reigned from 1226 until his death. He was the child of Louis VIII and Branch of Castile. He also launched the seventh and eighth crusades.

He was the perfect monster the world had never seen - historians say of Louis IX

He was regarded as a role model among medieval French and even European monarchs, nicknamed the "Perfect Monster." In medieval Europe, to become a model monarch, one must have at least the following conditions: devout Christian belief, participation in the Crusades, fair law enforcement, etc., and he had all of the above. Although he did not bring any revolutionary changes to France, his effective rule brought a period of stability and prosperity to France, strengthened the authority and status of the French royal family, and laid a certain foundation for the French royal family to survive more than half a century later.

He was the ninth king of the Capetian dynasty. Thanks to the efforts of his grandfather Philip II and other predecessors, the French royal family had ended the embarrassing situation of being trapped in the "Island of France". Although it had not yet established a centralized authority over the whole of France, it was already the most powerful person in the name. His father, Louis VIII, who was brave and good at fighting, did not add much property to the Capetian dynasty. He reported to God at a young age, leaving behind the 12-year-old Louis IX and his mother, Blanchet, who were orphaned and widowed. The first 10 years of Louis IX's reign were regent by the queen mother Blanchet. In Louis IX's early education, Blanchet played a huge role. Under the guidance of his mother, the Christian spirit has become an integral part of his thinking since childhood. He showed this in his later actions, doing Thou Thou Thou Thou twice a day, reciting the Book of Our Lady 50 times before going to bed, getting up at midnight to attend the morning prayers held by the priest in the church. He donated money to the order without hesitation and became a member of the Order of St. Francis. At times, he even washed the feet of the blind in the workhouse himself, following Jesus' practice of washing the feet of his disciples. But his piety also caused damage to France. He strictly banned the spread of paganism, set up burning grounds and courts for heresy, treated Jews especially harshly, burned their scriptures, and forced them to wear Jewish symbols.

His piety is also reflected in his enthusiasm for the Crusades. He led the Seventh and Eighth Crusades, which go down in history as a wonderful conclusion to the history of the Crusades. The previous one lasted from 1248 to 1250, when the young Louis attacked with great power. It is said that there were 140,000 army and more than 1,800 warships, targeting Egypt under Saladin's descendants. But after capturing the port of Damietta, the army was devastated by the plague. On the way to Cairo, the Egyptian Sultan Saleh who came to fight suddenly died of illness in the army. The situation seemed to be very good, but the Egyptian Guard, composed of slaves, led by Saleh's concubine Pearl Branch, still defeated the tired crusaders. His brother, Count Artois, died, and St. Louis himself was "honorably" imprisoned. He was released after paying a fine of 800,000 gold coins. The war had a greater impact on Egypt's history, and the Ayyub dynasty was destroyed and began to rule under the "slave dynasty".

The next time, from 1269 to 1270, St. Louis, who was talking about juvenile madness, led 6,000 knights and 30,000 infantry to attack Tunisia, despite the opposition of most of the nobles in the country. At first, it was very strong, but the plague always loved to oppose him. This time, he died of illness in the strange and changeable deserts of North Africa. According to today's point of view, his expedition was a failure, but according to the chivalry of Europe in that era, whether he was captured or died on the journey was a great honor. Because of this, 27 years after his death, he was recognized as a saint by the Holy See and won the title of "St. Louis".

Louis IX's immediate achievements did not stop there. As early as his youth, he had personally defeated the invasion orchestrated by King Henry III of England. Later, he signed the Treaty of Paris with Henry III, exchanged territories with each other, and Henry III submitted to Louis IX as a vassal. Later, he signed the Treaty of Corbett with King Jaime I of Aragon of Spain, which basically established the pattern of the two countries bordering the Pyrenees. In general, Louis IX implemented a policy of good neighborliness among European Christian countries, did not take the initiative to provoke wars, and handled disputes with justice and leniency. This made his era a rare era of olive branch dancing in medieval Western Europe, which is also one of the reasons for his high reputation.

Louis IX's greater influence on France also lay in his judicial reform. Unlike the judicial reform in England at the same time, the French reform obviously had the purpose of strengthening the centralization of power. First of all, it was to transfer the judicial power to the royal court, stipulating that important cases such as rebellion, edicts, and counterfeiting must be tried in the royal court. He also implemented the "40-day king" system outside the royal territory, that is, after the local princes were violated, they could not retaliate for 40 days, but could only appeal to the royal court and be judged by the king, which deprived the princes of the right to "kill first and then play". St. Louis also banned judicial duels, bloodline revenge and other outdated customs. At the same time as the judicial reform was the currency reform, which stipulated that only royal coins could be circulated in the royal territory.

St. Louis is worthy of being a rare people-friendly king in the history of the world. Every time after he finished the Thesis, he would sit in the Forest of Vincent to accept complaints from any citizens and personally try the case. As mentioned above, he would personally wash the feet of the poor. With his own money or public funds, he built hospitals, relief homes, guest houses, homes for the blind and residences for redeemed prostitutes. During each inspection, he provided meals for 120 poor people every day, three of whom could eat with him. He also served lepers to eat.

He also supported literature and art and played a positive role in the development of the University of Paris. In his time, foreign students gathered in Paris. The large number of Gothic buildings that appear in Paris are testimony to the prosperity of his time.

Regarding St. Louis's historical status, although he did not bring any revolutionary changes to France, his effective rule gave France a period of stability and prosperity, strengthened the authority and status of the French royal family, and provided the French royal family with a lasting victory over half a century later, it still stood firm despite the heavy blow of the Centenary War between Britain and France, and then laid a certain foundation for the formation of the French nation-state. His judicial and monetary reforms were a solid step on France's path to a centralized state. In addition, the exemplary role he left to future emperors as a "perfect monster" should also be added. The execution grounds and Inquisition he promoted were a disturbing part of his important influence. The "perfect monster the world has never seen before" ranks 67th in this ranking.

The experience of growing up with the Christian spirit shaped Louis IX's personality and his governing style, whether it was tolerance, justice, pity for the poor and the weak, peace for neighboring countries or brutality towards infidels, hostility towards the Islamic world fully reflects the characteristics of a pure Christian monarch.